This describes the current MechVM version. I will update it as needed. Please post any questions as a separate thread.

Installing and Running MechVM

Download the Win32 package from MechVM.org. Extract it wherever you like. Then run MechVM.exe in the main directory. That's it.

Installing MW2 using MechVM

Follow these steps:

[list]
[*] Insert your MW2 CD
[*] Start MechVM
[*] Click install
[*] If there are several versions on the CD, click the button that will install the version you want
[*] Wait for it to complete[/list]

During install, the mechs are also extracted into the mechs subdirectoy in MechVM. After that, you may browse them in MechVM's Mech Lab.

After installing, you may start the games using the "Play Game" button. In some cases, you may have to click the command line window, and ALT-TAB back to another window after the game exits. Currently, you can't play the ATI, Matrox and S3 Virge versions of the game. Please contact me if other editions don't work either.

Replacing mech configurations

For some missions in MW2, you can't choose a mech. This is true for the trials in MW2:31stCC, the GBL underwater mission, and some Mercs missions. If you find the mission insanely difficult, it may turn out to be easy with another mech config. Try these steps:

[list]
[*] Create a mech config as usual in the mech lab and save it, then exit GBL
[*] Back up you MW2.PRJ file
[*] Run MechVM, open MW2.PRJ using "View FIle"
[*] Navigate to the MEK folder
[*] Select the MEK file to replace, the configs are printed to the command line
[*] Right click the file to replace, select "Replace with ..." from the context menu
[*] Select the new file
[*] Restart GBL, and you should be able to use the new config[/list]

Compiling for Linux

Some MechVM versions have been tested to compile under Linux. You need to download the source code package from mechvm.org. Under Ubuntu, the necessary packages can be installed by running:

If everything works as expected, you can start MechVM by typing:
./mechvm

The MechVM section will always have a topic describing the latest version. If you have problems, or if it works, please let me know so I know whether to focus on Linux or Windows development. Note that some functionality available in the Windows version is currently missing in the Linux version.